Question for kazu

Morning Jacqui,

I know you have used Spain Day Tours in the past and I know they are a good company.

Which would you choose , Cadiz to Seville or Malaga to Granada.

We are in Cadiz on Palm Sunday so I'm not sure if that will impact opening of attractions

Also, when do you make payment to them ?

Thanks. Kathy

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Morning Jacqui,

I know you have used Spain Day Tours in the past and I know they are a good company.

Which would you choose , Cadiz to Seville or Malaga to Granada.

We are in Cadiz on Palm Sunday so I'm not sure if that will impact opening of attractions

Also, when do you make payment to them ?

Thanks. Kathy

 

 

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I haven't used them for a couple of years in all honesty but they are a reputable company and our tours with them have been fine. Other members of our roll call are using them this year. We have opted for different things as we have "been there, done that".

I don't think Palm Sunday impacts the attractions. Easter Monday can.

Both Seville and Granada are fabulous. But, I love the charm of Cadiz & Malaga as well ;)

If I had to choose and could only do one, I would probably go to Granada to see the Alhambra. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella actually lived there for a time - they liked it so much.

Spain Day Tours has 2 different arrangements. You can book private and form a group. Or you can sign up, start a tour and encourage others on the roll call to join in. Back when I used them, I didn't have to prepay.

They are quite good at answering questions so I would hit the contact button and ask them to be sure.

IF you will not be toured out and you can swing it, Seville and Granada are both worth a visit. Especially on Palm Sunday for Seville as you may catch some Easter celebrations.

Thank You

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Thank You

 

 

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Happy to help if I can.

If there's anything else, just ask or drop me an e.

Have fun planning :)

It is not necessary to be in a group to book with Spain day tours. You book as individuals. Sometimes group leaders are involved but it is not required. Everyone is picked up at the port in a large bus to drive to the attraction. A bus guide checks off your name from a list and collects any balance you owe. Most people prepay when booking.

Once you arrive at the destination you are randomly subdivided and assigned to an actual tour guide. The bus guide and tour guides will not know or care whether you are in a "group". Once at the attraction you can ask to subdivide with your "group", friends or family.

I believe a "group leader" goes free provided they recruit a certain number from the roll call.

Spain Day tours has a great product and they are taking their business model out into other countries. Same booking procedure. They operate under different names in other countries.

It is not necessary to be in a group to book with Spain day tours. You book as individuals. Sometimes group leaders are involved but it is not required. Everyone is picked up at the port in a large bus to drive to the attraction. A bus guide checks off your name from a list and collects any balance you owe. Most people prepay when booking.

Once you arrive at the destination you are randomly subdivided and assigned to an actual tour guide. The bus guide and tour guides will not know or care whether you are in a "group". Once at the attraction you can ask to subdivide with your "group", friends or family.

I believe a "group leader" goes free provided they recruit a certain number from the roll call.

 

Spain Day tours has a great product and they are taking their business model out into other countries. Same booking procedure. They operate under different names in other countries.

Absolutely correct, mostly. If someone on a roll call forms a group though, Spain Day Tours absolutely cares and knows they are in a group. They are all registered under "Smith234" tour (for example).

If 1ANGELCAT is on a roll call it can be fun to go with people you "know" ;) And someone may have already started one. Unless you book privately most of their tours require a minimum of 10 people to go (I think Barcelona is the exception). Spain Day Tours reserves the right to add other participants to fill it to the max (usually 18) since it is still a general group tour.

I believe they also reward leaders of groups if they form enough tours with a free tour or reduced price. At least that was the case for a CC friend of mine who did that. I didn't benefit from that as when I booked I did private tours of 6 - 8 people.

You're right - they have several names. Whether you see the name Spain Day Tours, Barcelona Day Tours or Top Day Tours, they are all the same company ;)

Sadly, as their fame as grown so have their prices.

They have definitely expanded outside of Spain and when I compare the quality we had in Portugal compared to Spain, it is was not the same. It was still a decent tour, but the bigger you get, the harder it is to deliver the same quality product ;)

They are still a good, reliable company to tour with :)

It is not necessary to be in a group to book with Spain day tours. You book as individuals. Sometimes group leaders are involved but it is not required. Everyone is picked up at the port in a large bus to drive to the attraction. A bus guide checks off your name from a list and collects any balance you owe. Most people prepay when booking.

Once you arrive at the destination you are randomly subdivided and assigned to an actual tour guide. The bus guide and tour guides will not know or care whether you are in a "group". Once at the attraction you can ask to subdivide with your "group", friends or family.

I believe a "group leader" goes free provided they recruit a certain number from the roll call.

 

Spain Day tours has a great product and they are taking their business model out into other countries. Same booking procedure. They operate under different names in other countries.

Two things wrong with this, IMO. Doing the large bus is back to being like a HAL excursion the only difference being cheaper but long on-and-off bus issues. I much prefer small groups. And in my experience, the "group leader" does not get to go for free. What usually happens is if you have a certain number - say 10 - everyone pays less. If you only have 8, for instance, you pay a little more. Having said that, I have never done an excursion in Spain and I cannot speak for all tour operators.

Two things wrong with this, IMO. Doing the large bus is back to being like a HAL excursion the only difference being cheaper but long on-and-off bus issues. I much prefer small groups. And in my experience, the "group leader" does not get to go for free. What usually happens is if you have a certain number - say 10 - everyone pays less. If you only have 8, for instance, you pay a little more. Having said that, I have never done an excursion in Spain and I cannot speak for all tour operators.

I actually had an offer from one guide in the Caribbean for a tour I arranged to give me a very reduced price. I asked it to be passed on to the group which it was so everyone went for a bit less ;)

I haven't received any such offers in Europe, but there I keep the groups small for good reason ;)

Wed

It is not necessary to be in a group to book with Spain day tours. You book as individuals. Sometimes group leaders are involved but it is not required. Everyone is picked up at the port in a large bus to drive to the attraction. A bus guide checks off your name from a list and collects any balance you owe. Most people prepay when booking.

Once you arrive at the destination you are randomly subdivided and assigned to an actual tour guide. The bus guide and tour guides will not know or care whether you are in a "group". Once at the attraction you can ask to subdivide with your "group", friends or family.

I believe a "group leader" goes free provided they recruit a certain number from the roll call.

 

Spain Day tours has a great product and they are taking their business model out into other countries. Same booking procedure. They operate under different names in other countries.

We were two couples at Malaga. We hired a taxi, went tor a while to Torremolinos andd then to Marbella. ere had done resostt stays thre for ab out 3 weeks and wanted lbarbeque fish ( salmon, sworddsdish )unch on the beach etc. :) It was a wonderful day. I love Marbella and the beaches in toremolinos arre very wide, soft white sand. It is very touristhy in T orremloinos and hugely elegant and high end in Marbella. Se stfayed in gorgedous hotel threre. Taxi wsorked out gvreagt for us but we knew just what we wanted to do. We spend a very full day in Cadiz. Charrming.

Sammis Dawg's post is interesting. Group leader goes freee if they get enough people to sign up. makes sense but not a bad deal. if one arranges tours in lots of ports. :They can tour a great deal of Europe and pay little or nothing. :) for all those tours, they choose and arrange.

We are in Kazu's current Roll Call and booking with a Spain Day Tour that another RC member started for Cadiz to Seville. Emilia at SDT just outlined payment policy for me in an email. They do want credit card number ahead of time to CONFIRM reservation -- Not sure when the charge is put through, but they have what I reckon is a generous refund/cancellation policy of 48 hours pre-tour OR if your ship doesn't dock. No-shows get charged, which is reasonable.

On the day of the tour the bus guide has a list of individuals who booked and whether they are paid in full. There is no reference whatsoever to any "groups" that formed on CC.

I've used this company numerous times and have several day trips booked in April with one of their subsidiaries in another country. They've definitely raised prices but offer a lot for the money. Not as good as a truly private tour.

I've never been a group leader for them but in the past they emailed me after I booked asking me to recruit people on the roll call in return for a free trip. I declined because their best attribute is the ease of booking as an individual.

On the day of the tour the bus guide has a list of individuals who booked and whether they are paid in full. There is no reference whatsoever to any "groups" that formed on CC.

I've used this company numerous times and have several day trips booked in April with one of their subsidiaries in another country. They've definitely raised prices but offer a lot for the money. Not as good as a truly private tour.

I've never been a group leader for them but in the past they emailed me after I booked asking me to recruit people on the roll call in return for a free trip. I declined because their best attribute is the ease of booking as an individual.

Thanks, Sammiedawg. interesting how they know all about our Roll calls, not that it surprises me............... they are business men and women.

Not surprising at all that they know about our roll calls.

Many private operators when you book will wish you luck finding fellow participants on your CC roll call ;)

CC is not a secret - nor are our roll calls ;)

Morning Jacqui,

I know you have used Spain Day Tours in the past and I know they are a good company.

Which would you choose , Cadiz to Seville or Malaga to Granada.

We are in Cadiz on Palm Sunday so I'm not sure if that will impact opening of attractions

Also, when do you make payment to them ?

Thanks. Kathy

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We took the Spain Day tour from Cadiz to Seville in May. The guide spent way too much time at the Alcazar Palace going into too much detail. We left the group before tour was over and tried to find a place for lunch. We did not have time to go to the cathedral due to the long lines. If you take this tour, watch the time and try to get to the cathedral on your own before you meet up with the group. I was disappointed at not getting to see the cathedral and a little under whelmed with the Alcazar Palace. If you had taken the HAL transfer to Seville, there was a long line to get into the Palace which we avoided by taking the tour. There are more restaurants out on the main street, the ones in the old part of town seemed very slow. We ended up just grabbing something quick, but still missed the cathedral.

Not surprising at all that they know about our roll calls.

 

Many private operators when you book will wish you luck finding fellow participants on your CC roll call ;)

 

CC is not a secret - nor are our roll calls ;)

I agree, not surprisinig but interesting.

Anyone who has a chance to see Alhambera and missess it, is making a mistake, IMO.